FLORHAM PARK -- Fittingly, a request to name a starting quarterback for next season floated toward Rex Ryan and John Idzik, seated on a dais Tuesday at Jets headquarters for the concluding address of 2013.

Ryan, whose daily responsibilities as Jets head coach include discussing the team with the press, has been karate-chopping such questions all year, particularly since April when the Jets selected Geno Smith in the second round of the NFL Draft.

“I get it every day,” Ryan chuckled, patting the general manager’s shoulder.

The year began with a competition between Smith and Mark Sanchez, a five-year veteran who has steadily faded out of the spotlight due to a torn labrum in his right shoulder. That injury made Smith the Jets’ de facto starter in August, and he held the position over 16 regular season games, bobbing through the intermittent struggles and highlights of his rookie season.

Sanchez’s days with the Jets seem to be numbered. Coupled with the injury to his throwing shoulder, he has a hefty contract which the Jets can alleviate with a release.

Do those considerations point to Smith as the starting quarterback of the 2014 Jets?

“We don’t look too far into the future as that,” Idzik responded, when asked to appoint a starter. He added, “I don’t even know who we’re playing the first game.”

Idzik said he was pleased with Smith’s progress during the season, and most encouraged by the rookie’s incremental improvement. Idzik mentioned that Smith demonstrated he could efficiently maneuver an offense with accuracy passes and also threaten defenses as a runner.

“All the things he did,” Idzik said, “they were very positive.”

But the general manager, who is also entering his second season on the job, said that Smith will face another year of competition for his position. Smith is not an established veteran starter – unlike, say, offensive linemen D’Brickashaw Ferguson or Nick Mangold – and therefore development resumes in April when the Jets return to New Jersey for offseason workouts.

To push Smith, Idzik will evaluate free agents and quarterback prospects in the draft, just as he did last season despite Sanchez having held the job unchallenged over four years. Smith acknowledged Monday that he expects to once again wrestle for the starting job next season.

“We will always look to improve every position in any manner we can,” Idzik said. “And that doesn’t change going into 2014.”

It is possible that any additions to the roster, though, will have a greater effect on Matt Simms, a first-year player who spent the regular season as No. 2 on the depth chart, than Smith.

Idzik cautioned that it is difficult to formulate a rounded opinion of Smith – or any rookie – after just one season. Smith has much more to learn, more to demonstrate before conclusions can rightfully be drawn.

Hence Idzik’s response to that question: “I don’t think we anoint anything. Let’s let 2014 take its shape. We’ll be able to assess that as we go forth through training camp and get to the regular season.”